Golf balls having a cover material marketed under the trademark "Surlyn" by E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company of Wilmington, Del., are known in the art and such cover compositions generally comprise a copolymer of an olefin and at least one unsaturated monocarboxylic acid. Conventional two-piece golf balls are comprised of a solid resilient center or core with molded Surlyn covers. The cover used is normally a hard, high flexural modulus Surlyn resin in order to produce a gain in the coefficient of restitution over that of the center or core.
In a conventional two-piece golf ball, a hard, high flexural modulus Surlyn resin is molded over a resilient center or core. The hard, highly flexural modulus Surlyn resin for the cover of a two-piece golf ball is desirable as it develops the greatest hoop stress and consequently the greatest coefficient of restitution.
A two-piece golf ball having a hard, Surlyn resin cover however does not have the "feel" or playing characteristics associated with softer balata covered golf balls. Heretofore balata covered golf balls have been preferred by most golf professionals. If a golf ball has a cover of soft, low flexural modulus Surlyn resin molded directly over a center or core, it is found that little or no gain in coefficient of restitution is obtained.